


Fears and Tears

by misckpopstuff (Sphenimersus)



Category: UNIQ (Band)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 18:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9396965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sphenimersus/pseuds/misckpopstuff
Summary: Yixuan is watching Wenhan and Sungjoo partying, while Seungyoun is visiting his parents. As for Yibo, he’s stuck in the dorm by himself, shivering and afraid.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted on [AFF](http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1139617/fears-and-tears-uniq-yibo).  
> Originally posted on June 15th 2016.
> 
> Looking back on this, it was kind of cheesy to write this, but I think it's cute.  
> Bad fluff ending though. -.-

Yibo returns to a silent dorm after a day in the practice room. It’s their day off, but he decided to go polish up his dancing. He knows that Seungyoun is out to visit his parents, but the other older members are nowhere to be found. After wandering around for a bit, he finds a note left on the fridge.

_‘Yibo-- Wenhan and Sungjoo want to go to a club. I’m going to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t do anything stupid. There’s food in the fridge. Call if you need anything. ~Yixuan’_

Yibo shrugs and quietly takes out the plate of leftovers, heating it in the microwave for a minute and a half. He’s upset that he’s alone but also happy because the oldest member trusts him to be alone in the dorm.

Settling onto the couch with his dinner, Yibo switches on the television and eats alone. He doesn’t recall the last time he had to eat alone, hectic schedule and all, so he finds himself missing the obnoxious company of the other members. (He’s not any better, annoying his hyungs at times, but it’s fine because he’s the youngest. And he’s definitely not the most spoiled.)

Finding nothing good to watch, Yibo leaves it on the news and goes back to the kitchen to place his plate into the sink. After contemplating a bit, he thinks that he’d rather be scolded by Yixuan than wash the dishes. The thought of having to go through both passes through his mind, but at least he could postpone washing the dishes.

Yibo stretches his long legs across the couch and covers himself with a quilt one of their fans had made for them. He snuggles in and half-heartedly keeps an eye on the tv. He vaguely registers what the weather report is saying and jumps when thunder claps just as he was about to fall asleep. His tired eyes, no longer heavy with sleep, open wide in shock and horror. _Oh, god, no, not a thunderstorm._ His attention reverts back to the television which shows that the storm would last the entire night. He feels his skin turning cold, pale, as fright seeps into his bones. Quickly moving around, he switches on all the lights in the dorm, only to accentuate the shadows around the corners.

Praying that the lights wouldn’t go out, Yibo still searches for the few flashlights they keep and hopes the batteries still work. _Please, please, please work._ He goes through three of four of the flashlights, finding each of them broken. The last one, the fourth one, simply screams _‘death!’_ at him (yes, he’s superstitious, so sue him). Yibo tries it anyway, feeling ecstatic when it turns on. Immediately turning it off again, he takes blankets from each of the member’s bed and places them on the sofa.

 _Why, of all days, today? Why are they all out today?_ Yibo thinks in fear. He knows that he recently said that a man shouldn’t shed tears, but that doesn’t mean that they have no fears. It’s silly; he’s an adult (in China)! Even so, he’s terrified of loud sounds when it’s night out.

After pacing around the living room, Yibo finally sits down on the couch. He smothers himself with the layers of blankets (six total). Under the layers of cloth, Yibo turns on his phone and begins to play with the games on it to distract himself from the situation. He jumps whenever thunder booms, and he feels as though the building will collapse.

When a particularly loud crack is heard, Yibo screeches and holds onto anything he can find for dear life. This goes on for what seems like hours to the young rapper. When it’s finally quiet again, Yibo peeks out from under the blankets and sees nothing. _Good lord, must you torture me so._ His hand blindly reaches for the flashlight, and he flicks it on. He sighs in relief when he finds the flashlight still working

He returns to his phone, reading through comments on Weibo, browsing through what comes up when he searches ‘Uniq’, checking the status of his other friends (personal and idol), anything to keep him occupied. At one point, he squirms on the couch and finds earbuds in the cracks. At this point, he doesn’t care how old it is or who it belongs to, so he plugs it into his phone and hooks it into his ears. He begins playing music, which blocks out most of the sounds from outside. Eventually, he becomes desperate enough to read a _news article_ which is what he’s reading when he finally falls asleep.

* * *

“You two are so wasted,” Yixuan sighs while pulling the two younger individuals. “We’re lucky we managed to find a place to stay last night considering the time we left the club.”

Sungjoo grons, “ _Hyung_ , please stop talking. My head hurts already.”

“And whose fault might that be?”

“Yours because you didn’t stop us from drinking so much,” Wenhan replies indignantly.

Yixuan looks at them in mock hurt, “You know, _I_ paid for the hotel room _and_ half of your drinks.”

Wenhan shrugs and Sungjoo squints, “What time is it? Do you think Yibo is awake?”

“It’s around four-thirty. Yibo should still be sleeping,” Yixuan answers after looking at his wristwatch.

Sungjoo moans, “Why did we leave so early?”

“Because we’re idols and we need to avoid the paparazzi. Coming out of a sleazy hotel with the previous night’s clothes in a mess will look wrong,” Yixuan says, exasperated.

Sungjoo moans again, “Why do you always have to be right?”

“How else would I be able to take care of you?”

“Mom, make us feel better!” Wenhan whines.

“You’re all idiots.” Yixuan takes out their dorm key, and the three eldest in Uniq enter the brightly lit dorm.

Sungjoo squeals, immediately covering his eyes. “Did Yibo have a party or something here?! JESUS, TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!”

Wenhan complains, “I’m not going in until all the lights are off.”

Letting out another breath of exasperation, Yixuan clicks off the light for the two younger. First the living room, then the kitchen, the bathroom, and lastly, all of their rooms. _What was Yibo doing last night?_ While going across the dorm, he misses the large lump on the couch in the living room, and it doesn’t click with him that Yibo wasn’t in his bed.

After changing out of their clothes from last night into the more comfortable sleepwear, they all land on their beds only to find that something is missing. Wenhan doesn’t particularly care, so he simply falls asleep thinking that he must have put it into the washer. Sungjoo is too tired to deal with anything, so he goes to sleep as well. Yixuan, on the other hand, gets out of his bed to turn on the lights. He blinks to adjust to the brightness and finds his bed empty. Scanning the room, Yixuan doesn’t see his comforter on the floor, and he clearly remembers that he had taken his blanket out of the wash two days before.

Confused, Yixuan shrugs and decides to search for it later. He’s tired after having to take care of the two that wanted to go clubbing. He takes out the extra quilt he always keeps in his drawer and goes back to bed after turning off the lights again.

* * *

Wenhan wakes up with a groan, causing Sungjoo to awaken as well. “Wenhan, go back to sleep,” Sungjoo complains.

“It’s too cold,” Wenhan replies, flipping onto his stomach.

Sungjoo turns to his side on his bed, looking at his friend, “Come to think of it, what happened to our blankets?”

At that moment, Yixuan walks in yawning, “Do you guys know where my comforter is at?”

Both men blink at the eldest with question in their eyes, “Your blanket is missing too?”

Yixuan nods.

“What happened to Yibo?” Sungjoo suddenly asks.

They all blink and leave the shared room to the room of the two youngest. Yixuan flicks the light switch, and they all find two empty beds, bare of blankets as well. Immediately, the eldest falls into a panic, “What if Yibo was kidnapped?! He’s still so young! His parents will kill us!”

* * *

Meanwhile, Yibo continues to sleep under the six blankets in the living room. He shifts to get into a more comfortable position. In his dreams, he’s dancing happily to music. It’s almost as though he had returned to his pre-teen years. He’s sweating from exhaustion in the dream, and in reality, he’s sweating from the heat. His body naturally wiggles out of the bundle he had put himself in the night before. Back in dreamland, Yibo is taking a break and a cool breeze washes against his skin. He sighs lightly and rests on the green grass to watch the fictional clouds.

* * *

Wenhan shakes the eldest, “Yixuan-hyung, _calm down_. Let’s check all the other rooms before we make any assumptions.” He holds the other’s hand and pulls him out of the maknaes’ room. Sungjoo follows suit, and they all arrive at the dark living room. Wandering around carefully, Sungjoo finds the light switch. Once the light is on, the three eldest finds a lump with a head sticking out on the couch.

All three blink once and then Sungjoo coos, “Awww, look at the little prince sleep. Isn’t he so cute?!” By then, he’s rushing out to get his phone to snap a photo.

Wenhan coughs, “Well, we certainly found him quickly.”

“Yeah,” Yixuan nods worriedly, “But he’s under so many blankets. Is he sick?”

Sungjoo returns with his handphone ready. Squatting in front of the youngest’s sleeping face, his phone clicks once, twice, and he then has a third photo. Satisfied, he backs away to give space to the other two.

Yixuan cautiously approaches and shakes the lanky body lightly, “Yibo.”

The younger groans lightly, scrunching up his eyebrows. In his dreams, the skies are turning dark and the shadows around him begin to dance. Dream-Yibo feels the ground beneath him shake, power increasing with every passing second.

In reality, Yixuan unsuccessfully stops Wenhan from shaking the sleeping boy violently.

A voice rings in Yibo’s  dream, _“Yibo, Yibo. Wake up!!!!”_

Eventually, the dancer wakes with a scream, fear evident in his eyes. Yibo meets with the surprised faces of his group members, but at the moment, all he sees is the dark circles and horrendous hair that create an image of something that would have been funny if he hadn’t been scared in and out of sleep. Despite the temperature, Yibo tucks his head back into the layers of blanket. He’s shaking so much that even through the stacks of cloth, they can see the vibrations of fear emitting from the youngest’s body.

“Yibo,” Yixuan calls out softly again. The two younger of the hyung line back away slowly to give space to the oldest and youngest member. “You’re okay, Yibo. There’s nothing scary here. Just your hyungs.”

Slowly peeking out, Yibo looks up with eyes uncharacteristically filled with emotion. Admittedly, it was nice to see some sort of feeling shown in the aloof prince’s expression, but fear, and maybe tears, is not something that any of them wish to see. They’ll joke about it later, but it’s somewhat haunting.

“Yixuan-ge?” Yibo asks hoarsely.

Yixuan immediately responds, “Yes?”

Sighing in relief, Yibo pulls in the older to hug for comfort.

“Uhh,” the older stutters, surprised by the sudden display of affection, “Yibo?”

“Stay,” the other demands.

Yixuan releases a breath of consent, “Fine, but let’s make it more comfortable.”

Yibo nods and shifts his body while still keeping his hold in the taller man’s limbs. Yixuan lifts the younger individual’s head and sits down at the previously occupied space. Yibo lays down on his lap and holds onto the other warm body. He suddenly requests, “Please stroke my hair.”

Yixuan complies, running his hand through the expanse of soft hair. “What happened?”

Yibo relaxes his body, but his grip doesn’t loosen, “There was a thunderstorm. The shadows were moving constantly, but I couldn’t turn off the lights. I hid under everyone’s blanket, and then there was a blackout. I only had a flashlight and my phone, so I played with my phone until I fell asleep.”

Yixuan nods in realization. They forgot that their chic and cool youngest member is actually terrified of the dark (and the most superstitious of the five of them). Continuing to pat the younger’s head, he turns to the two standing awkwardly next to the tv. “Go make breakfast. I don’t think Yibo will want to move anytime soon.”

They nod and quickly rush out of the room. Within fifteen minutes, the group of four have bagels and milk for breakfast. Yibo nibbles little by little and take small sips. Eventually, his tense shoulders relax, and he resumes his aloof facade.

When Seungyoun returns in the evening, the blankets still aren’t back in their respective beds. In fact, Yibo is still using them to cover his body as the rest of the group watch a comedy with him. He smiles, not quite cracks up, at the funny parts. Seungyoun looks questioningly at the oldest.

The only answer he receives is the mouthing of the words, “Yibo was alone last night while it rained.”

Immediately understanding the situation, Seungyoun settles on the floor quietly, as to not to surprise the youngest who is engrossed in the film.

They spend the rest of their night together in the living room, falling asleep halfway through a romantic comedy. (Why they have that movie, Seungyoun has no idea.) The second youngest turns off the tv and settles beside Yibo to sleep with his friends.


End file.
